AURORA - Officer Doug -Byrne knew when to give a boost to his buddies on the police force.

He was the first to shake hands with a newcomer. He encouraged another to keep at it in golf. He shared his dreams with yet another.

Byrne died Monday after he crashed his police cruiser on the way to a medical call.

Three officers shared their good memories of Byrne on Tuesday at a news conference in front of the police department.

They talked freely. But they stood stiff, the better to hold in their grief.

"He was one of the most caring, generous individuals you'd ever meet," said officer Robert Tanuz.

How caring?

Tanuz met Byrne in 2004 when both were going through the lateral police academy - for officers with previous experience. Tanuz retired from the Albuquerque department. Byrne came over from Glendale, where he was awarded the Medal of Valor - the top award for heroism - for helping rescue people in the fatal Spanish Gate Apartment Homes fire in 2003.

"He asked me if I knew my way around the Denver metro area," Tanuz said.

He didn't. So Byrne told him some places he could go and take his family.

"We went to the fireworks display in Glendale," Tanuz said. It became a tradition to go to the celebration with Byrne.

Byrne and Tan-uz last met at a bar on St. Patrick's Day. "We had a beer together and joked around," Tanuz said.

"I was looking forward to next St. Patrick's Day," Tanuz said. "I was looking forward to watching football with him. I was looking forward to the next event, of spending time together. And now it's not going to happen."

He said Byrne would have been a good training officer .

"I've never seen him lose his temper," Tanuz said. "He was very calm. The word try is the important thing. You try to help people. You try to do right. And I know Doug was trying to do his best. He was trying to help someone."

Tanuz heard about Byrne's death when he ran into a detective in a stairwell at the department. The detective asked if he knew Byrne.

It didn't register that the detective was talking in the past tense. So the detective told him straight out what happened.

"It was like a sock in the stomach," Tanuz said.

Officer Tim Gramse heard the news as he reported for duty on the graveyard shift Sunday. His sergeant sent him to Swedish Medical Center to relay the latest on Byrne so the supervisor could pass it on to other officers in the field.

Gramse was in a waiting room with other officers. A surgeon came in periodically with updates.

Finally, the surgeon came in with another doctor. And Gramse knew it wasn't going to be good.

"I reached over and touched another officer on the arm," Gramse said. "He shook his head and looked down. I grabbed a box of Kleenex in front of me."

Gramse said Byrne had a wicked sense of humor.

"He had a way of embarrassing you - not in front of other people," Gramse said. "It was just between the two of you. He'd put funny pictures in your mailbox. Or he'd send you funny pictures on your cell phone."

Gramse said Byrne's death reinforces for him that police work can be dangerous.

Patrolman Tom Beach stood as stiff and straight in front of TV cameras as the blooming pear trees. "It's been a roller coaster," Beach said.

He, too, plays golf, but not as good as Byrne. He said that as he gears up for the summer season, his goal is to break 100, as it has been for every summer past.

"Doug would say, 'This summer, you're going to break 100. And I'm going to be there when you do,' " Beach said.

Like Tanuz, Beach and Byrne met at the academy. Beach came over from Englewood. He and -Byrne hit it off.

Byrne "was hard-working. He didn't avoid calls. He handled them well," Beach said.

Byrne, Beach and a couple of other officers would hang around together, gathering at one's house and playing poker.

Beach recalled one game. The guys were joking and laughing, getting away from police work.

"Doug left the room," Beach said. "When he came back, he was wearing some old, mirrored sunglasses, like cops in the '60s used to wear. It was the goofiest thing we'd ever seen."

Beach also said Byrne's death is a reminder that the job can be a killer.

"It could very easily have been me going to that call," Beach said. "I wouldn't want it to be anybody - especially Doug."

Services

• The funeral for officer Doug Byrne will be at 10 a.m. Friday at Heritage Christian Center, 9495 E. Florida Ave.

• A public memorial service for Byrne is set for today at noon in front of the Aurora Police Department at 15001 E. Alameda Parkway.

massarog@RockyMountainNews.com or 303-954-5271.

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